Hymn: It Is Well with My Soul Bible Passage: Philippians 4:4-7 4 May you always be joyful in your union with the Lord. I say it again: rejoice! 5 Show a gentle attitude towards everyone. The Lord is coming soon. 6 Don't worry about anything, but in all your prayers ask God for what you need, always asking him with a thankful heart. 7 And God's peace, which is far beyond human understanding, will keep your hearts and minds safe in Christ Jesus. (GNB) ピリピ人への手紙4:4−7 4 いつも、主にあって喜びに満たされていなさい。 もう一度言います。 喜びなさい。 5 自己中心的でなく、思いやりにあふれていることを、だれからも認められますように。 主がもうすぐ来られると、いつも意識していなさい。 6 何事も心配してはなりません。 むしろ、どんなことでも祈りなさい。 神様にお願いしなさい。 そして、祈りに答えてくださる神様に感謝するのを、忘れてはなりません。 7 そうすれば、人間の理解をはるかに超えた、すばらしい神様の平安を経験できます。 キリスト・イエスに頼る時、その平安は、あなたがたの心と思いとを静め、安らかにしてくれるのです。 (JLB) Introduction - What a joy it is to be back with you here in English chapel again. I would like to share with you for just a short time today, two of my favorite interests and try my best to blend them together for you. One of course, is music. All my students know how much I enjoy music. We have the joy of listening to some kind of music in every one of our classes. The hymn that we sang today is also one of my top favorites and has been for many, many years. Another interest that I'd like to share with you today is storytelling. This came from having a mother who was one of the best storytellers I've ever know. She could put so much feeling and excitement into every children's book she read to us! I also got a lot of inspiration from the famous American radio announcer of the last generation, Paul Harvey. Almost everyday as I was growing up, I would listen to his truly wonderful stories on our local radio station. The beginning of our story - With that in mind today, let me tell to you the story of one American man and his family. One hundred and eighty seven years ago, a boy was born into a well- known family in Lansingburgh, New York. His father was a government worker who had close connections with Thomas Jefferson, president of the U.S. at that time. The boy was given his father's name, Horatio. As he grew, he discovered that he really enjoyed law and began his training as a lawyer, especially medical law. When he graduated as a lawyer, he decided to move west from New York to the "Windy City," Chicago. There he opened his very first law office and began his career. It wasn't long before he became one of the most successful lawyers in the whole city. About this time, he met a very pretty young lady named Anna and they fell in love. Soon they were married and started their family. Before long, they had 4 lovely young daughters to be very proud of. Horatio worked hard as a lawyer and also was very wise to invest his money in real estate in the central part of Chicago. He became rich from his investments and he and his family were very well known in the city as being gracious, peaceful Christians. They gave much money to poor people and did much volunteer work. Now, at this point, you might say that he and his family were living the "American Dream." He had a good career, plenty of money and a sweet and loving family. But wait just a moment. Now - the Rest of the Story - On October the 8th, 1871, a great and terrible fire swept through the city of Chicago, the worst fire in the city's history! In the blink of an eye, the city center was destroyed. As the city was burned to ashes, Horatio lost almost all of his money that he had invested in real estate there. For the next 2 to 3 years, he and his family worked hard to help so many people who lost their homes in the Great Chicago Fire. But all this hard work left Horatio and his family completely tired. They decided to take a bit of a break and go to Europe to enjoy a family vacation. They traveled together from Chicago to New York where they would leave for Europe. At the last minute, Horatio got word that there was some unexpected business that he needed to take care of. He told his wife and daughters to go on ahead to England and that he would come as soon as he could. Anna and their four daughters got on the French steamship Ville du Havre on November 22, 1873, along with 307 other passengers and crew. At about 2 a.m. that same day, in North Atlantic Ocean, the Ville du Havre collided with the British sailing ship Loch Earn. The Ville du Havre sank in just 12 minutes, killing 226 people, including Horatio and Anna's four daughters! The British ship was damaged but was able to help 61 passengers and 29 crew members from the Ville du Havre. Anna was one of those lucky people who was saved. Finally Anna and the other survivors reached Cardiff, England. On December the 1st, 1873 Anna sent a telegram to her husband in the U.S. The message said, "Saved alone. What shall I do?" Horatio quickly took the next ship he could to join his wife. As he was sailing across the Atlantic Ocean, the captain of the ship called Horatio to come and see him. The captain said, "I thought you might want to know. We are now passing the spot where your daughters' ship sank." Horatio went back to his cabin, took out a piece of paper and wrote down some very beautiful, memorable words. The man's full name: Horatio G. Spafford. The words he wrote are words of the hymn that you and I just sang today! "When peace like a river attendeth my way, When sorrows like sea-billows roll, Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say: It is well, it is well with my soul." Conclusion - How could he write such wonderful words as these when he was so sad, while he was mourning for his daughters? His secret was his faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. And it really is no secret! Look again at the last part of today's Bible passage: And God's peace, which is far beyond human understanding, will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus! Do you have problems that are bothering you these days? Do you feel that your worries are so very heavy? Then let's do as Mr. Spafford did. Let's take all our cares to Jesus. And in return, He will give us the greatest sense of peace that we've ever know before! Closing Prayer - Dear loving Heavenly Father, thank you so much for our time together today in English Chapel. Thank you that we can share this beautiful music, these beautiful words and sing our praises to You. Sometimes our hearts are filled with happiness, but sometimes also, they are so heavy and sad. Dear Lord, we thank you for all the joys You bring into our lives. Please be very close to us, comfort us and help us when we go through the tough times. We love you and give You all of our lives - and in return, please fill our hearts with Your peace that goes far beyond our human understanding! And I pray all these things now in Jesus' precious name, Amen. ✞ ✞ ✞ ✞
God bless you today as you go from our chapel time. May God wrap you in His peaceful, loving arms all day today!
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About This PageThis is my personal space to share my messages and thoughts about Hokusei English Chapel and the things that God brings in to my life. Archives
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